Haruto stood silently among the fallen bodies.
The smell of blood filled the cold forest air.
Then suddenly
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
The blue system notifications appeared one after another in front of Haruto's eyes.
Before he could even react, another message appeared.
[System Upgrade]
A faint light flickered across the screen of the system window.
[ Miyuki's Level Has Also Increased ]
Haruto blinked once, watching the words carefully as they appeared.
[ New Skills Adapted ]
More notifications quickly followed.
[ Sword Master Skill ]
[ Support Magic ]
Another notification appeared immediately after.
[ Level Up ]
Then the system paused for a moment, as if preparing to show something important.
[ Congratulations. You Have Unlocked a New Skill ]
Haruto's eyes focused on the next line.
[ Shape Shifting ]
A small note appeared beneath it.
[ Shape Shifting — Level 1 ]
For a moment, Haruto simply stared at the glowing words in silence.
Then he slowly lowered his gaze, thinking about what the system had just given him.
He had started to notice a pattern before, but now it felt clearer.
Whenever he killed someone… or defeated someone powerful, he sometimes gained their abilities.
Their skills.
Haruto frowned slightly as he thought about it.
"So when I kill someone… I can obtain their skills," he muttered quietly to himself.
His eyes returned to the system window.
"Sometimes even their special abilities."
His gaze stopped on the new skill name again.
Shape Shifting.
Haruto thought about the meaning for a moment.
"A shape shifting skill…" he said slowly.
A faint realization crossed his face.
"That means…"
He paused briefly before finishing the thought.
"I can change my appearance into someone else."
However, his eyes shifted toward the small line written beneath the skill.
Level 1.
Haruto exhaled softly.
"But the level is only one," he said quietly.
Which meant the ability was still weak.
For now.
Haruto was about to open the system window again to check his status.
But before he could do it, Miyuki's voice suddenly broke the silence.
"Haruto…"
He turned his head toward her.
Miyuki looked at him for a moment before speaking again.
"You are my master now. At first… I didn't believe you," she admitted honestly. "But now I do."
She paused and glanced around the forest.
The ground around them was still covered with bodies. The smell of blood lingered heavily in the air.
Night had already begun to fall, and the forest was slowly growing darker.
Miyuki frowned slightly.
"But we can't stay here," she continued.
Haruto looked at her curiously.
"If we stay here, other monsters will come," Miyuki explained. "They will smell the blood."
She pointed lightly toward the ground.
"There is too much of it. My scent is also mixed with the blood. Monsters will notice it."
She then looked deeper into the forest.
"Before they arrive, we should leave."
Haruto nodded quietly.
Miyuki then added,
"I know a place nearby where we can stay tonight. It's safe."
Without saying anything else, Haruto simply followed her.
The two of them walked through the dark forest for several hours.
The moon slowly rose higher in the sky, casting pale light between the trees.
Eventually, they reached the side of a quiet river.
Near the river stood a small old house.
The wood looked aged, but the structure itself seemed stable.
Miyuki walked straight to the door and pushed it open.
The door creaked slightly as it swung inward.
They stepped inside.
Haruto looked around the room with surprise.
The house was old, but it was not dusty or dirty. Everything looked surprisingly clean.
It almost felt like someone still lived there.
Haruto slowly closed the door behind them.
"It looks like someone lives here," he said.
Miyuki shook her head.
"No," she replied calmly. "I live here."
Haruto blinked.
"You… live here?"
Miyuki nodded.
"Sometimes when I come to this forest to hunt, I stay here," she explained. "So I clean it from time to time."
Haruto nodded slowly.
"That explains why it looks so clean."
The house itself was very small.
There was only one room.
Inside the room stood a single bed.
Miyuki looked at the bed, then turned toward Haruto.
"You sleep there," she said.
She pointed to the bed.
"I'll sleep on the floor."
Haruto immediately shook his head.
"No. You sleep on the bed. I'll sleep on the floor."
Miyuki frowned slightly.
"But you're my master now."
Haruto crossed his arms.
"That doesn't mean I steal your bed."
She opened her mouth to argue again.
"Masters are supposed to sleep on beds," Miyuki said seriously.
"And guests are supposed to let the owner sleep on the bed," Haruto replied just as seriously.
For a moment, the two of them simply stared at each other.
Finally, Miyuki sighed.
Without saying anything else, she grabbed a blanket and spread it neatly across the floor.
"There," she said.
Haruto looked at the blanket.
Then he looked at the bed.
Then back at Miyuki.
"…You made the floor bed look too comfortable," he muttered.
Miyuki smiled slightly.
"Too late. It's yours now."
Haruto sighed but didn't argue anymore.
After that, they found some stored food in the house.
It was simple, but it was enough for the night.
They ate quietly.
The long day of fighting and traveling had made both of them tired.
Not long after, the small house beside the river grew silent.
Miyuki lay down on the bed.
Haruto lay down on the blanket on the floor.
Within minutes, both of them had fallen asleep.
Outside, the quiet river continued to flow under the moonlight.
A week had passed since Haruto and Miyuki started staying in the small house beside the river.
During that time, they rested and slowly recovered from their injuries. The quiet place allowed them to relax, something they both needed after everything that had happened in the forest.
But resting forever was not an option.
Sooner or later, they would have to continue their journey.
That evening, Haruto was sitting on the bed, thinking about what they should do next.
The room was calm. The only sound came from the gentle flow of the river outside.
Then the wooden door opened.
Miyuki stepped inside.
She had been outside for some time, and now she walked into the room carrying something folded in her hand.
Haruto looked at her with curiosity.
Without saying anything at first, Miyuki walked toward the bed and sat beside him. She left a small gap between them before turning slightly toward him.
Haruto noticed the paper in her hand.
"What's that?" he asked.
Instead of answering immediately, Miyuki placed the folded paper between them on the bed.
Then she slowly opened it.
It was a map.
The paper spread across the bed as Miyuki flattened the corners with her hands.
Haruto leaned forward slightly to take a better look.
The map looked simple and rough. It was clearly hand-drawn, not something official.
On one side, there was a large area marked as a human kingdom.
Next to it was a large region that looked like a forest.
Further ahead, there was a smaller area marked as a demi-human village.
Beyond that, another forest was drawn.
And at the far end of the map was a place labeled demon domain.
Haruto observed the drawing carefully.
After a moment, he noticed something strange.
"There are no names," he said.
He looked at Miyuki.
"Why doesn't the map have the kingdom names written here?"
Miyuki scratched her cheek slightly, looking a little awkward.
"I drew it," she admitted.
Haruto blinked once.
"You drew this?"
Miyuki nodded.
"I don't know the actual names of most places," she explained. "That's why I didn't write any."
She gently pointed to different parts of the map.
"But I've seen maps before," she continued. "So I tried to draw the places the way I remember them."
Haruto studied the map again.
It wasn't perfect. The lines were uneven, and some areas looked more like guesses than accurate locations.
Still, it showed the general direction of the lands around them.
"For something you drew from memory," Haruto said after a moment, "it's not bad."
Miyuki looked a little pleased when she heard that.
Then she leaned slightly closer and pointed at the forest drawn on the map.
"This is where we are right now," she said.
Haruto followed where she pointed and studied the map carefully.
A human kingdom…
A demi-human village…
And far beyond them—
The Demon Domain.